BCS: Best Choice Still for college football

So many flaws and lies in the support of college playoff
formats. So little time.

Let's start with the popular notion among fans and media critics
that five undefeated teams make this the "perfect" time for an
eight-team playoff to settle the national championship.

I would say "poppycock," but I think that word has been
trademarked by another in this section.

Instead, let's just look at the numbers.

There are six champions of "big" conferences. By "big," I mean
conferences that are going to have to be included in any type of
playoff. If you really think the Big Ten and the ACC are going to
agree to an eight-team playoff format that does not include their
champions, go ponder your fantasy playoff somewhere else.

So after your tournament invites Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Ohio
State, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, you are left with two spots. If
you give those to your precious unbeatens, TCU and Boise State,
that means no spot for Florida - a team ranked No. 1 much of the
season and the defending champ and a team that would not have a
loss if its conference was like the Pac-10 or Big Ten and had no
championship game.

If you believe that format escapes controversy and really solves
anything, let me know how Gators fans respond to that line of
thinking.

Your next choice is to move on to a 16-team tournament. I read a
very thoughtful and reasoned e-mail Tuesday that proposed a playoff
with 11 conference champions and five at-large teams. There is no
question that there are merits to this argument.

Along with at least one enormous flaw.

A 16-team tournament means the equivalent of four "bowl" games
for the title contenders, extra games for others, too. What it
means, among other things, is lots of injuries during a very busy
December and January.

At a time when the NFL is wrestling with what to do about
concussions, a playoff this large is inviting some college teams to
play 15, 16, maybe even 17 games in a season.

Ahhh, I know your next suggestion already. You want to cut the
regular season from 12 games back to 11, don't you?

Perfect idea. Will that handicap Texas or Florida or Ohio State
or the superpowers that are going to make this 16-team tournament
year after year?

Not on your life.

What it will unquestionably do is reduce the revenues of the
lower-end teams that try to compete with them in their conferences
- think Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas A&M - along with
virtually every team other than the occasional BYU or TCU from the
non-power conferences.

You want a real shift in power? No better way to go about it
than to make the Sooners and Gators more powerful than they already
are while cutting the budgets at Baylor and Mississippi, not to
mention at least 90 percent of the Mountain West, WAC and
Conference USA.

But there is good news, playoff supporters. Rep. Joe Barton,
R-Arlington, just sponsored a very important piece of legislation
that - well, it won't do away with the BCS or anything like that,
actually. But if it ever became law, it would keep the BCS from
calling the Texas-Alabama game "the national championship."

Now that's the way to spend your tax dollars, isn't it?

It's a good thing that unemployment is barely into double
figures and this country is only waging two expensive and deadly
wars at the moment.

That allows us to focus on the real threats to this nation's
health, wealth and happiness.

That, of course, is the BCS, which, if you and Mr. Barton have
failed to notice, is filling the bank accounts of the Mountain West
and WAC this holiday season like never before.

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.